21 June 2012

The Teck Corsage Brooch

The Teck Corsage Brooch

Composed of a central large pearl surrounded by braided rows of diamonds with twelve collets around the exterior and a removable pendant chain of collets with three pendant pearls, this brooch is popularly known as the Teck Corsage Brooch. The newest publication on the Queen’s jewels, Hugh Roberts’ The Queen’s Diamonds, elaborates on this jewel and gives it a different name: The Duchess of Teck’s Emperor of Austria Brooch.

Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck

It was given to the Duchess of Teck, mother of Queen Mary, by the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria when he was named godfather of her son Prince Francis. It later ended up in Queen Mary's collection (after likely being inherited by her brother Francis and then probably by his mistress after his untimely death) and passed to the Queen when Mary died in 1953.

Queen Elizabeth II

This brooch seems to have been more popular with the Queen in her younger years. When it appeared during the 2011 state visit from the United States, it hadn't been seen in some years. The Queen then used it in its simpler form, without the chain, at Ascot in 2012.